Him
by RockinUrSoks
Summary: It pains me to know that I am not one of those girls, and that I might never be one of them, and that he will never ever take a second glance at me" Derek suspiciously starts giving mixed signals to Casey, who already has a humongous crush on him...
1. Chapter 1: Crushing Hope

**This is my first fanfic :D I hope you guys like it. Its kind of short, but, hey, doesn't take as long to read. (I even included a twilight reference) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Life with Derek or it's characters.**

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I want to go through a transformation, a personality metamorphosis and even a physical one. I can't help but feel jealous of those pretty girls. The girls, who are at the top of the popularity food chain, who have about 100 pairs of high heels, who have boys crawling all over them. I am sadly envious of them and I can't stop it. I want to be myself and have my own identity, but a part of me wants to be one of them, mainly because _he_ hangs out with them. He is interested in those types of girls. It pains me to know that I am not one of those girls, and that I might never be one of them, and that he will never ever take a second glance at me.

I feel so shallow and stupid for liking him. I not even supposed to like him. 'Just his appearances attract me' I say those words every night to myself. Well I find myself always thinking that the boys I like actually have a deep soul under their skin. They are not shallow and have a sensitive side. But as I get to know them, they aren't who they look like. They are childish and shallow. But is it my right to call them shallow, as I only like them for their looks. He is no different. Whenever his words are directed to me, it's usually said out of annoyance. Again, he's not really different from my last crushes. Popular, good with the girls, and always adorable. Maybe I'll get over him as soon as I see that he is not who I idolize him to be. Maybe another guy will catch my eye, and maybe pigs will fly. He is always in my eye. This is why I'm worried. I can't get over him. I see him every day.

I like him a lot though. Whenever I actually think about him liking me, my heart literally skips a beat. But it eventually goes back to its regular pattern as I convince myself that there is no way that he will ever like me. It's practically impossible. He used to be in love with this other girl. That girl is meant to be with him, not me. I know. They loved each other a lot. That fact adds on to my self loathing. Another fact is that I am not his "brand of heroin". Pretty girls are his type. I am not pretty at all from any angle what so ever. But there are actually rare times where I feel good about myself and I exude self confidence. But those moments are quickly destroyed and pounded into dust as soon as I see him talking to another one of his lady friends. Another reason why I shouldn't like him is that I'm not allowed to like him and that hurts the most. Knowing I have practically no chance with him forces me into a more depressing state.

There are these times at school where I saw him looking at me. But I think those momentarily glances are caused by just looking around or even disgust. He knows I like him. Everytime I pass by him, he looks at me. I'm fed up with myself. But sometimes, I misconstrue his glances as him maybe liking me and admiring me. That's when my heart gets out of control. But there's no way he can like me. Just no way, right?

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**I hope you guys liked reading it :)**** thank you. Review if you like and it will fuel me to continue. Constructive criticism is welcome. :)**


	2. Chapter 2: Monday Mornings

**Haha, this is Dasey, if you haven't figured it out. Anyway, I'm gonna try to make this a multi chapter drama type thing. Wow, I never know how happy reviews make me. So review if you like the story please. (: And I'm going to include the last paragraph from the previous chapter. I hate it when I click on a story I read and I forget what chapter I'm on and what happened. So this will be a little refresher (; I also kinda edited my first chapter since I saw some grammer mistakes and I know that those are everybody's pet peeves.**

**oh yeah, I have to do a disclaimer too (I learned from other fanfics) so…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Life with Derek. **

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"_There are these times at school where I saw him looking at me. But I think those momentarily glances are caused by just looking around or even disgust. He knows I like him. Everytime I pass by him, he looks at me. I'm fed up with myself. But sometimes, I misconstrue his glances as him maybe liking me and admiring me. That's when my heart gets out of control. But there's no way he can like me. Just no way, right?"_

Today is Monday, the day I dread most out of the week. Usually people don't like Mondays because of it's the first day of school . I hate it because that's the day where I'm forced to continue my schedule with him. The painful weekday schedule. I try to wake up extra early just so I can use the bathroom before he does. You see, when I use the bathroom after him, I enter into a room smelling _exactly_ like him. I often pretend to be disgusted with his smell, making it out to be musky and sweaty. Actually he smells quite nice. It must be some cologne or deodorant that he's using. I'm really hoping that he uses deodorant. But when I enter the bathroom, I am entranced by the aroma. And I really don't need another reason to like him. I am actually freaked out by how much I love the smell. I actually close my eyes and take it in. And after, I feel like this weird stalker of some sort. And after that, my heart throbs, knowing that this is practically the creepiest way to like someone and that if he knew, he would practically avoid me for the rest of my pathetic life. Sometimes I wonder if he takes in the scent of my bodywash after I use the bathroom but I know that if he does that, then he wouldn't be classic _Derek_.

Today, I didn't wake up early enough. By the time I got to the bathroom, it already smelled of mint and _him._ I, disgustedly, enjoyed the smell and took my time showering and brushing and flossing and such hygienic things like that. I brushed my hair about two million times. I wanted to look perfect and nice for _him. _How does he spend 5 minutes in the bathroom looking better than I do spending half an hour in there? He spends only one minute on his hair, and yet it still makes my throat gulp. I hated how much time I spend trying to look decent for him. But sadly I can't help it.

When I reached the kitchen, I saw empty chairs and a bunch of syrup stained dishes. They must have had pancakes this morning and I sarcastically thanked them in my mind for saving me some. George and Mom must have gone to work already and Edwin and Lizzie probably started on their walk to their school. Derek must have already taken the Prince and was on his happy way to school. I don't know what he does in that short route from home to school. He usually leaves as soon as possible after he practically inhales his breakfast. He usually shows up late with his clothes disheveled even though he has a car. I really hope he doesn't spend his extra moments with girl. I try not to think about it but my mind can't help but wander there.

That leaves only Marti and me. I walk Marti to school every weekday. I would have thought Derek would give her a ride there, since Marti is his only warm spot, but no…he probably too busy frolicking around with girls. I didn't mind though. Her school is right on my way to my overly populated school filled with hormonal teenagers. It's refreshing to see a place where everything is so simple and innocent. I often find myself wishing that I can return to those times. I called Marti so we can start on our energizing walk and she came down wearing my pink tutu from ballet over her regular clothes.

"I wanna be a princess today!" she exclaimed with energy which I assumed came from the sugar filled pancakes.

I picked her up and put her on my lap. She was getting heavy. I guess she's growing up.

"You only want to be a princess today? I think that you want to be one everyday," I told her, "But today, don't you only want to be Marti?"

She looked up and me and grinned with her two gaps in the front showing. I think that the two teeth that were previously there is probably all snug and tucked under her pillow, waiting for the tooth fairy to pick them up in exchange for a quarter. I smiled back with all my teeth showing.

"Yeah! I think Marti is really cool," she praised.

"I think Marti is cool too," I said back while lifting her up in the air and spinning her around.

She laughed a lot. Her laugh is so innocent and inviting. During the middle of the spin, she even snorted. I couldn't help but laugh myself. Then I slowed the spin and she rested her arms around my neck as I was still holding her up.

"Now, are you ready to put my tutu back in my room and be Marti?" I asked her.

She simply nodded her head with, still, a grin on her face. She put her down and she ran hurryingly up the stairs. I eyed her as she ran and I saw that the one and only Derek was at the door, with a smile, not a smirk, on his face. I realized that he was probably there the whole time. I could feel my cheeks start to warm as he was walking toward me. Shouldn't he be fooling around with a girl in his car right about now?

"Hey…shouldn't you be off to school?" I stupidly asked him.

"Save it, Space Case. I…overslept," He replied with, of course, an insult, if I even considered his little nickname for me an insult.

He couldn't have overslept though. He used the bathroom before me. I know that because I smelled him. Also the pancakes were completely gone. I checked. Mom usually made a lot of pancakes in order to satisfy Derek's stomach. He was the only one that can eat 20 flapjacks in one sitting. Why was he lying? I decided not to call him out on it though.

"Hey, do you want me to give you and Marti a ride today?" he proposed.

"Umm, why?" I asked; hey I was curious.

"Don't question my motives. I just thought since me and the Prince are still here, I can treat princess number 1 and 2 to a ride."

I would normally act to be annoyed by his little princess comment but I couldn't help but smile at his very rare act of kindness. I nodded in reply. Marti finally came stepping down the stairs and ran to Derek. He instantly picked Marti up in his arms.

"Hey Smarti, do you want to ride in the Prince today?" he asked her.

"But it smells bad…" Marti replied, scrunching up her nose.

"Well, too bad because you're gonna be spending time with me whether you like it or not," he said back.

"You too, Princess" he suddenly shouted out to me while he pointed at me.

My cheeks warmed up again. With Marti still in his arms, he went out the door merrily. I was still standing in the house, amazed by the good deed Derek had done. I'm sure that he was going to use this as leverage later on but I was still happy from the fact that he's not always the jerk that everyone thinks he is and happy that this morning, the only girls that he spent his time with was with his little sister and his step sister. Then my face suddenly changed from a grin to a frown as I realized that I was only his step sister and that's probably how he saw me, as his annoying little keener sister. I was only more worried when I saw that his act of kindness only made me like him even more...

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**:D that was really longer than my first chapter. Anyway constructive criticism is appreciated and reviews are praised! so review review. Next chapter, I'm gonna do the ride there :D. I'm having fun writing this. I'll try to update as soon as I can but unfortunately I have summer homework o . I'll definitely try to write a chapter everyday. I'm not sure if I had the dialogue writing right but I hope you enjoyed reading it. Thanks for reading (: **


	3. Chapter 3: Car Ride

**Ahh, time for another chapter :D anyway thanks for reading the last two chapters and if you want, you can keep reading if you like. I know the story is getting kinda boring for some people but this is how I want it done (: please review if you like it! Oh and if you don't know what the Prince is, that's Derek's car.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Life with Derek or it's characters.**

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"_My cheeks warmed up again. With Marti still in his arms, he went out the door merrily. I was still standing in the house, amazed by the good deed Derek had done. I'm sure that he was going to use this as leverage later on but I was still happy from the fact that he's not always the jerk that everyone thinks he is and happy that this morning, the only girls that he spent his time with was with his little sister and his step sister. Then my face suddenly changed from a grin to a frown as I realized that I was only his __step sister__ and that's probably how he saw me, as his annoying little keener sister. I was only more worried when I saw that his act of kindness only made me like him even more..."_

As I finally regained my composure, I started my walk out to the Prince. My nervousness started to rise with each step. I can still hear Marti and Derek bickering about the quality of his "classic" car. When I finally reached the Prince, I saw, through the window of the backseat, Marti still scrunching up her nose in response to the putrid smell. Wow, if the smell makes Marti gag, the girl who plays with bugs and dirt and slimy animals, then I wonder what that could do to me. I saw through the front window seat a certain Derek getting more impatient by the second. When I got into the car, Derek instantly commented on my "snail like" slowness.

"What took you so long? Gas is not getting any cheaper, Case" He hissed at me with an annoyance in his voice.

"But you didn't even start the car yet" I replied, "so how exactly are you wasting gas?"

He paused for a minute. I bet he's probably thinking up another insult because he can't think of an answer.

"Atoms deteriorate by the second," he said with a smirk on his face.

Oh, that was so clever.

"Right…," I said sarcastically, "I think you just made that up"

"Hey I pay attention in Chemistry."

"Derek, you're in biology" He failed bio the first time. I don't know why, I mean I think he already had experience with the anatomy of the female body.

"Same difference, Case. God, I didn't know that you were stalking me"

This provoked me.

"Just because I know what science class you take instantly makes me a stalker?" I was raising my voice. This guy really knows how to push my buttons.

"Don't be ashamed Case. You're not the only one," he stated slyly, "I mean no one can resist the charms of the sexy and charming Derek Ven-"

"CAN WE JUST GO!" Marti interrupted all of a sudden.

I was thankful too. I really didn't need this argument to go anywhere. Why did I like this guy? All he does is brag on and on about himself. Derek started the car and we were on the road.

"Just so you know, you're not "_sexy"_ and "_charming," _I kept on arguing, "the real you is just a big headed jerk!"

I don't know why I still wanted to argue with him. I just felt that I needed to set some things straight. I really didn't need this guy to know that I liked him or else I would never hear the end of it.

"And I thought that you were the peacemaker. Why are you still arguing with me?"

"Just so I can stop the swelling of your big, giant head"

"Ouch, that really hurt, Case" Derek said back to me, with a hand over the place where his heart _should_ be, instead that place is occupied with a black hole.

We reached Marti's school and she finally said goodbye to her "Smerek" and hopped her way to class. It was kind of awkward in the car after. There was only complete silence and only the purring of the engine was heard.

"So, Case, umm why are you acting so…different?" Derek said out of the blue.

I turned to look at him but his eyes were on the road, and he was trying not to make any eye contact with me. Does he know that I like him? Was it that obvious?

"What do you mean?" I asked back, my heart flipping up and down.

"I mean…. we haven't been arguing like usual"

"Well, don't you consider that a good thing, Derek? Now you don't have anyone stopping you from getting what you want anymore." I said back to him.

"Well, sometimes you know... I…like arguing with you," He said awkwardly, "I mean when I'm bored or something, its nice for someone to challenge me once in a while even though I'll know I'll crush them"

He started to smile. I could sense that it wasn't easy for him to say all this. He's not a very "show your emotions" guy.

"Well, sometimes I get so fed up with you, I don't even know why I try," I said back, smiling at him.

"Well, try for my sake, alright?"

I saw his hand reaching for mine for a second but then his hand stopped and returned back to the wheel. Was he going to hold my hand? My heart was beating rapidly at the thought of this. Or was my eye doing mind tricks on me?

"Gosh, Derek, do you really miss our petty fights that much?"

"No, I don't miss it. I just…," he was trying to get the words out, "love seeing you annoyed and suffering. Its really funny."

I rolled my eyes as I was seeing that he was trying to be classic Derek again.

"Well, you can't force me to pick a fight with you."

"Remember, what Derek wants, Derek gets." He started smirking. It started to get quiet in the car again.

"Well, maybe I'll consider going back to our manic ways if you compliment me just one time," I hardly believed he was going to do this but then I stood corrected when Derek actually complimented me, I think…

"Well, I thought it was kinda cute how… you were playing with Marti today, spinning her around and stuff," Derek started to say, "but I only thought it was cute because you know Marti is my "soft" spot as some people say."

"Well thanks Derek, I guess you aren't as big a jerk as I thought you were."

"Hey, I thought I asked you to start arguing with me, not praising me like everybody else."

"Well, if you compliment me, I have to compliment you back, right?"

"Hah, well isn't this a warm fuzzy brother-sister moment?"

My smile quickly turned upside down when I heard this. Brother and sister, that's all he thinks of me. Déjà vu.

"Um..yeah" I could hear my voice starting to crack. Man why was I such a cry baby?

Luckily he didn't notice.

"Hey we're here. I think this is the earliest I got to class ever," he started to say as he got out of the car, "you coming, Case?"

"yeah" I sighed out.

I forcefully opened my car door and slammed it. Derek of course didn't notice as he was already walking to his group of friends and gals. I silently walked to my locker and tried to slide out my heavy books. One of them was about to fall on me, but then a hand suddenly saved me as it grabbed it mid air. Hoping to see Derek, I turned to my left only to see my friend, Noel. I tried to greet him with smiles, ignoring my small disappointment.

"Wow, thanks. You just saved me from another display of my "Klutzilla-ness."

"Yeah, for a dancer, I thought you would have a more inner sense of balance" He said back with a perfect smile.

"Inner sense of balance? I sense that you recently watched Kung-fu Panda"

"Hah, no. I get all my wise sayings from fortune cookies."

"Nice, because if you got the wise sayings from a kids movie, it seriously would lose its wise-ness." I said back, laughing.

Noel offered to walk me to class, and I, of course, took it. As he and I were walking, I glanced at Derek due to my humongous crush on him and I was surprised to find him staring at me and Noel, a little concern in his eyes. Then he tore his eyes away as soon as he saw me looking back at him and he focused back on his talking friend. Was he jealous? No, it couldn't be. It just couldn't. He has about 3 girls standing next to him. Why would he be concerned with me?

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**Well that's it for this chapter :D I liked writing this, It kills time and its super duper fun. Review review please!! it'll make me want to write even faster. Constructive criticism is mighty fine. I think my writing has been a little downhill from the first chapter. Thanks for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4: Cafeteria Mayhem

**Haha, sorry for the long update. Reviews make me want to write faster! :D Anyway, I think I am going to put this story on a hiatus because I want to work on another story. I will finish this story, just its on a pause right now. Anyway, I have no idea what to do in the next chapter. Any suggestions? Also, I noticed that I didn't really put a lot of dialogue in. Well, it takes me so long to write a chapter (I get distracted by various things) that it seems that I wrote a lot more. So I shall try to get more talking in there ;) I don't know if you got the Ohio joke down there. It's kinda confusing. **

**Disclaimer: No, I do not own Life with Derek, or its characters.**

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"_Noel offered to walk me to class, and I, of course, took it. As he and I were walking, I glanced at Derek due to my humongous crush on him and I was surprised to find him staring at me and Noel, a little concern in his eyes. Then he tore his eyes away as soon as he saw me looking back at him and he focused back on his talking friend. Was he jealous? No, it couldn't be. It just couldn't. He has about 3 girls standing next to him. Why would he be concerned with me?"_

I finally walked out with a tray of food after spending 5 grueling hours dealing with paper airplanes, immature sexist jokes, and boring books filled with about a million words per page. As I filled my tray with what seemingly looks like mash potatoes and this orange gooey liquid, I scouted out the cafeteria for Emily and Noel. They weren't anywhere in sight. Man, I gotta get more friends. I _really_ didn't want to look like a loner but I wasn't really prepared and too shy to go up to this random person and sit down with them. I'm really spineless. I looked around again and I saw Derek flirting around with a blonde. I think she's in my class. She wasn't exactly the brightest one. One time, she asked me how to spell Ohio, when we were in math class. I don't even know why she was thinking about it, but as soon as I told her, she seemed to be amused. "I know how to remember it now. Its easy, it's like running into someone and then recognizing them as your friend but then like realizing that she was your sleazy EX-best friend who made out with your like first boyfriend. Oh! hi, oh..."

Derek was using his classic moves to sway her. I predicted that he would first Smirk, Wink, Act Cool, then a Kiss. This was his "fool-proof" plan: S-W-A-C-K. He was preceding his plan but only got up to "S-W-A" because he suddenly interrupted his flirting ways when he saw me looking at him from across the room. I could tell my cheeks were turning bright pink as he waved to me. I, trying to be cool, smiled and waved to back to him. He was being surprisingly nice to me today, which really really creeps me out. Wow, after spending 2 years in the Venturi household, and I consider an act of kindness scary beyond all belief. The family had way too much influence over me.

I didn't want him to watch me as I made my way to an empty table, eating like some pathetic loner. But my tray was getting heavy and my stomach was getting louder despite the quality of the food and I wasn't about to eat standing up in all of this rush hour traffic. I walked up to an empty table and sat there and started to pick at my food, if you could call it that. Derek started to walk up to me and then jumped into the chair next to me.

"Sup, Case" he greeted me.

"Nothing much, Derek," I said back, still picking at the orange gunk with my fork,"Um, where's your new flirt at?"

"Well, Liza is-,"

"Lisa," I interrupted him.

"_Lisa_ is buying me lunch, although, I'm not sure if I want it anymore," he spat at me, taking a look at my lunch. He poked at my orange gunk, "I'm guessing carrot soup?"

"No, I'm pretty sure its just peaches: liquid form. You can have it if you like instead of fooling Lisa into wasting two dollars."

"Hey, if it's keeping me full, why is it wasting?"

"You'll have even more energy to sleep"

"Case, you don't know what I do in my spare time," He said to me suggestively. I cringed. I knew what he did in his spare time, there were rumors all around the school.

"Well, maybe I want this white stuff too," he said as he pointed to my mash potatoes.

"And maybe you'll actually like a girl with brains."

"Hey, I try to be nice to you and you're insulting my dates?"

"It's in the compromise, remember?" I said back to him with a fake smile, "You don't need to be nice to me. I'm perfectly fine on my own."

"Oh, you'd rather hang out by yourself than with your favorite stepbrother?"

"No, I rather hang out with my favorite stepbrother, but there's one problem, Edwin not here"

"Ouch Casey burn, I bet you would rather have your kissing bag, Noel, here," Derek said with distain.

"Noel is just my friend!" I shouted back to him even though his face tells me that he doesn't believe me.

"Really?" He said quietly and sarcastically. He had moved his face so it was only millimeters away from mine. I think he was trying to get me to kiss him? This was not happening, not in front of the whole school!

"And you're just my stepbrother." I whispered to him, and I saw that his face fell a little. His eyes were full of disappointment, and his jaw was clenched up in anger.

"I know" he whispered out sadly.

We were thankful when Lisa broke the tension with her "Der Bear…." She seemed to not notice the limited space between me and my stepbrother.

"The lunch lady was really creeping me out with her mole, so I couldn't get you anything," She whined to Derek, with her lower lip puffing out, "I'm sorry."

"It's ok Lisa," Derek said, proud that he knew her name,"I feel already nauseated."

He stared daggers at me. I nauseated him? He was the one who tried to kiss me in front of all of our classmates and friends!

"Oh hey!, Ohio!" Lisa yelled happily at me.

I gave her a fake smile and shook her hand, "The name's Casey."

"Psh, I knew that," she assured me, waving her hand around,"Derry..I want to go to my locker now, I need to get my Sweet Pea Moisturizer or else my hands get seriously dry. And I always need my skin to be..,"she thought for a second about the opposite of dry,"wet."

Derek sighed out of annoyance. I could tell. He usually sighed that sigh when I yelled at him.

"Kay, Let's go," he agreed.

Lisa started to head off to the caf's doors, swinging her hips side to side as she walked on her 3 inch high heels. I looked nervously at my regular flat shoes. I looked up as I heard a shrill "Derek!"

"That's my cue to go," Derek said to me, "Bye, Casey McDonald."

He seemed to be pleased at my last name. He hardly ever said it though. I had a little relief flicker through me. When he said my last name, it was like we weren't even brother and sister. Maybe that's why he liked using it too. I smiled up at him and waved my hand. Then he did something totally unbelievable. He reached over and gave my cheek a little peck. He kissed my cheek. I looked around, blushing, and seeing if anyone saw. As I saw the cliques, they were caught up in their own conversations and there seemed to be no one that saw the PDA.

"You know, brotherly love," he said to me as I looked up at him and

We were gazing at each other, neither one of us daring to tear our eyes away.

"Yeah I know." I said back.

Then a very impatient voice interrupted the warm moment.

"Der-ek! Are you coming or what?" Lisa shrieked.

"Yeah, I'm coming!" He yelled back. He started to jog out of the doors. I was left there, still dizzy and blushing. Wow, he kissed me on the cheek. That is definitely something that he wouldn't do, well at least, to me. It started to tingle where he kissed me so I lifted up my hand to massage the area. With my heart pounding out of my chest, I silently admitted to myself that I was hopelessly and pathetically in love with Derek Venturi.

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**ehh? So what do you think? I really liked this chapter! So fluffy :) and I know it's kinda short. It looks so much longer on my cmputer...So anyway review if you liked it and this story is officially now on hiatus. I will finish it though. I declare my life to it. Hehe. Review! please. It'll make me want to put if off of hiatus… **


	5. Authors Note

Yay! I'm gonna put this off of hiatus, because I feel happy this week, but I'll write a new chapter on Monday…because I have stuff to do over the weekend (which is weird because I don't really have a social life :p ). Sorry for the people who thought that this was a new chapter.

Anyway thanks **merethebear**, you're awesome! you made me feel fuzzy bout my story (that sounds um a little weird), and anyone whos reading this, read her story **"Memories of a Phantom"** Its really good! and original…

To **ellie141516**, sorry I didn't reply or "pm" you bout the story hiatus I'm kinda new to this website so I dunno know how to send messages or "pm" people..what does pm mean?? I always read it at the end of chapters "if you have any questions, pm me"

So yeah, the chapter should be up by….Monday, Tuesday at the latest. I thought of many many ideas for this story during the hiatus :) and I can't wait to share them with you. And thank you awesome readers who read my stories and therefore awesome. Review Review!! (please do so)


	6. Chapter 5: Little Routine

**yay!! hiatus is officially over! or is it….? dun dun dun…haha yes it is. I'm just trying to be unpredictable. Anyway please review! It would make me update faster. Trust me, it takes forever for me to write chapters and I'm a huge procrastinator, so those two make a dangerous combination. And reviews are the cure! Anyway here's the new chapter. Oh, and I'm also thinking of a sequel from Derek's point of view. It will be called "Her" But it's gonna be very very long before I start on it. I need to finish this one first :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Life with Derek or its characters.**

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"_He started to jog out of the doors. I was left there, still dizzy and blushing. Wow, he kissed me on the cheek. That is definitely something that he wouldn't do, well at least, to me. It started to tingle where he kissed me so I lifted up my hand to massage the area. With my heart pounding out of my chest, I silently admitted to myself that I was hopelessly and pathetically in love with Derek Venturi."_

It went on like that for about 3 weeks. He would give me and Marti a ride every morning, claiming that he might as well because he doesn't want me whining to him about walking Marti to school everyday. But the funny thing is that I never told him that I walked Marti to school. How did he even know? Then at lunch, like clockwork, he would bug me for about 5 minutes in the middle of lunch, and when he departed, he dragged me with him to the doors of the cafeteria, probably so we can be a bit isolated from the rest of the lunch frenzy. He then looks around the room, then gives me a kiss on the cheek. Somehow no one ever sees this random PDA. He usually rushes out of the doors immediately after, but not before smirking at my then-red cheeks. But sometimes, if I'm hanging out with Noel, then Derek starts his bugging at the very beginning of lunch but he didn't have the chance to today

"So what's up with you?" Noel asked me, trying to get me actually talking.

"Oh, nothing, just trying to figure out what this is," I said to him, picking at my oddly colored food.

I didn't really want to eat, not because of the "food", well yeah the food, but mostly because I could feel Derek's eyes burning through the back of my head. Ever since this little routine, it feels like he's gotten possessive of me. I mean, before, I saw him eying me a few times and whenever I looked back at him, he looked away. Now he looks at me almost every time I'm in his sight. And when I look back at him, he just keeps on staring.

"What are you thinking about?" Noel asked me, seeing that I was deep in thought.

"Not anything, really."

"There's something going on with you."

"Nothing is going on with me."

"Don't say that, you've been acting weird lately."

"Just drop the topic, please."

"No! I won't. Why won't you talk to me?"

"Maybe I just don't want to talk…" I said.

"You haven't been "talkative" for the past month. It's so annoying," he exclaimed suddenly.

"Maybe I've just got things on my mind that I don't want to tell you. What's so wrong about that?"

"Its annoying because I'm your best friend and you still won't tell me anything about your life."

"You think of us as best friends?" I asked curiously. I always thought of Emily as my best friend.

"Yeah, I mean, we hang out every day all the time. Well except for when Derek drags you away." Noel said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, he's my stepbrother."

"How come you still say _step_brother?"

"Because he is?"

"Sometimes I think that you want it to be more than that. That's probably what you were thinking about."

"Whatever," I muttered. Noel started to get frustrated by my lack of interest in the conversation.

"Well I think that its disgusting, Casey"

Noel started to raise his voice and he was practically stabbing his food with his fork. I looked around the cafeteria. No one seemed to notice our little fight, well except for Derek. He was staring as usual, but his face was tense, his eyes filled with fury.

"Well, I haven't thought of him that way," I lied, "He's my stepbrother. I mean even if he wasn't, he's still an egotistical jerk who messes around with a different girl every day."

"I bet girls like you would love to date guys like that."

"And what kind of girl am I?"

"A dumb one for having a little crush on him."

"I don't! I would never date Derek ever"

I just wanted this conversation to be over and I just said anything to get Noel out of my hair. I looked back at Derek. His face was now full of hurt, and he looked away from me, hiding behind his linked hands. My throat started to throb, which means I was going to cry. I looked back at Noel. He seemed to be relieved, but and his face started to soften.

"What kind of guy would you date?"

"Um, I don't know"

"Would you like a guy who's "Noel started to ask," Like me?"

"Huh?" I said.

"Well, I want to be more than best friends, Case."

I shuddered for two reasons. First, I didn't exactly want to be exclusive with noel. I mean, he's nice and all. But he's not…well…Derek. And second, usually the only guy who call me Case is Derek. Well he usually adds a "Space" in the front, but still, it didn't sound right when Noel said it.

"I don't know," I replied. I did know. I didn't have feelings for Noel, "I'll have to think about it."

Why didn't I just plain out reject him? Why was some part of me trying to give out false hope to Noel?

"Well, maybe this will change your mind."

He leaned down slowly to kiss me. He went 70 percent in, waiting for me to close the gap in between us, but I didn't want to, somewhat because he used that cheesy line. When he realized that I wasn't gonna put in effort to move my lips to his, he leaned down even more. I turned my head, so he kissed my cheek. It was the exact same spot that Derek usually kisses me. It felt absent. There was no tingling that I usually get after Derek's kiss. There was no flip flopping of the heart or any fluttering of butterflies in my stomach. Just an empty kiss. I suddenly heard a chair fall on the ground. I looked back and all I saw what the cafeteria doors closing and a bunch of people looking at them.

--

**This chapter was not that good. There was no Dasey interaction :( but I bet you guys already knew Noel was gonna have a crush on Casey haha. Anyway next chapter, I'll try to get up ASAP, after I write it. It should have more Dasey moments and it will be soooo much better than this chapter. Sorry if this was a let down for you guys :( its really short, i didn't have a lot of time today to write. but I promise you'll love the next chapter :D**


	7. Chapter 6: Spork Bickering

**:D I got much more than the 3 reviews I asked for. Thank you so much! :) Anyway I'm gonna keep asking for at least 3 reviews each chapter and if I get extra reviews, I would become ecstatic and write more haha so review.. And I didn't really plan for Noel to be the bad guy and I like his character in LWD, but come on he's getting in the way of Dasey : Anyway heres the new chapter. (also any suggestions on what I should do for the next chapter?)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Life with Derek or its characters.**

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"_I turned my head, so he kissed my cheek. It was the exact same spot that Derek usually kisses me. It felt absent. There was no tingling that I usually get after Derek's kiss. There was no flip flopping of the heart or any fluttering of butterflies in my stomach. Just an empty kiss. I suddenly heard a chair fall on the ground. I looked back and all I saw what the cafeteria doors closing and a bunch of people looking at them."_

I stood up out of my chairs immediately and started to head for the doors but then I felt a hand holding me back. I turned my head, and there I saw Noel holding my arm, giving me a disapproving look. Then a bunch of my thoughts hit my head. Should I go follow Derek? We have grown closer over the few last weeks, but maybe not close enough for one to follow another. Would I seem clingy to him? What would the school think? But then I realized that it didn't matter to me what he or the school thought of me. I just knew that he was pissed off and I, being the person who has a crush on him, wanted to be the one to comfort him.

I jerked my arm out of Noel's grip and ran out the doors. Then instantly I saw Derek by the lockers, listening to music with his big headphones on, with his back to the wall. He still looked a little mad because his jaw was clenched tight, but I guess that his anger was subdued by the rock music blasting at his ears. I walked over to him, the sounds of my foot steps echoing throughout the empty hallway, and sat down next to him. He looked down at me but he still didn't say anything.

"Hey, Derek," I greeted him in a hushed tone of voice.

At first he didn't really say anything, he just kept his jaw clenched and his hands into fists. But after a few minutes, his body relaxed, and he casually replied with a…

"Hey Case"

"Why did you rush out the cafeteria like that?" I asked him.

"I was pissed because the food ran away before I could eat it," he said, laughing to himself, "You know I have an all star appetite."

"Yeah I know, you usually scarf down dinner before I touch my spoon."

"Maybe because you take so long to figure out which one is the spoon and which one is a fork."

"I'm sure you had that problem too, maybe that's why you use a spork at dinnertime? You know, so you can avoid the confusion."

"Hah, yeah, maybe I should get you one for Christmas."

"It would be the first time you've gotten me anything for any occasion."

"Then you should be so happy about your spork then," Derek said, waving his arms up, "I'm thinking about getting it engraved, 'To Space Case, your cutlery problems are now solved.'"

"Wow, I could just die from joy. I'm already so so happy that you even know what a spork is."

"I'm pretty happy that I knew what it means too," he flashed a smile at me.

I could tell this teasing and bickering was starting to relax and comfort him. We were quiet for another minute. It wasn't as awkward as it sounds. We just were there by each other, each giving the other person a sense of comfort. He interrupted the moment when he said, "So I guess I was right about Noel being your kissing bag?"

"Well, not really. he was originally going to kiss me on the lips," I started to say and I could see Derek's hands starting to turn into fists again, "But I didn't really want him to, so I tried to dodge it, and I ended up kissing me here," I pointed to my cheek.

Derek slid down from his standing position so that he was sitting right next to me.

"That's the spot where I usually kiss you," he said to me, examining my cheek as if he was a doctor. I was surprised that he actually acknowledged his daily pecks to my cheek. He usually never talked about it.

"Hah, yeah…"

"Oh my gosh, Casey…" he urgently said to me.

"What?" I asked him with actual worry.

"Your cheek is losing color! What should we do?!"

"What do you mean its losing col-"

Then he interrupted my sentence as he kissed my cheek. I started to blush like crazy. My heart was pounding as loud as a hammer. I expected it to be over in a second, but Derek let his lips linger there on my red skin for about a full minute. Then he slowly pulled his lips away.

"There we go, all better," he said as he patted my cheek as if he was applying a band-aid there, "Its back to its normal redish pinkish color."

I simply gave him a nervous half smile. The spot on my check was tingling like crazy, like how if you move your leg after it fell asleep. My stomach actually hurt because the butterfly population in there quadrupled. I was caught up in the moment that I quickly kissed him on the cheek too, only mine was only about a second long. His cheek started to turn a "redish pinkish color" too.

"There, now your cheek matches mine ," I laughed, patting his cheek the way he patted mine, "And may I say, pink looks very cute on you."

He gave me a half smile too and then he stood up, offering his arm to me. I took his hand, and pulled myself up. I looked back at my lower half to see if there was any dirt on it; the halls could get really dirty. When I looked back at Derek, he was looking amused for some reason. I looked down and I saw that I still had my hand tightly wrapped around his. I blushed and let go, but his hand was still holding onto mine.

"Its ok, Case," he told me with a reassuring smile on his face. I tightened my hold on his hand again. That's when the very very annoying bell decided to ring, and he instantly let go of my hand as the emptiness of the hallway started to buzz with busy students. During all the traffic, I couldn't see him anymore and he was out of my sight. I leaned against the wall, taking in what just happened between my stepbrother and me, and what it meant.

--

**Haha, some Dasey fluff. Arg, I always think I'm gonna do something and as I type, it ends up being something else. Oh well, this chapter was super short. Sorry. I originally planned for something much more intimate between the two, but I changed my mind. They have to work for it :D Anyway please review, and I'll update as soon as I can after I get my three reviews :) (I don't really like using this as leverage, it makes me feel evil)**


	8. Chapter 7: Seatbelt Safety

**Yay!! I got 8 reviews and I'm so happy about it! Thank you, readers!! Anyway, I'm gonna up the review asking (um, weird phrasing) I'm going to ask for 4 reviews? Anyway thank you for the nice reviews and here's the new chapter, there has to be drama now. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Life with Derek or its characters.**

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"_I tightened my hold on his hand again. That's when the very very annoying bell decided to ring, and he instantly let go of my hand as the emptiness of the hallway started to buzz with busy students. During all the traffic, I couldn't see him anymore and he was out of my sight. I leaned against the wall, taking in what just happened between my stepbrother and me, and what it meant."_

The rest of the day went in a blur. Just everything didn't really matter as much anymore. I was practically useless, spacing out whenever I find time to think to myself. I kept on daydreaming throughout history. I put my history books in my locker, preparing for the long walk home. I guess Derek's nice enough to give me a ride to school but not nice enough to give me a ride back home.

As I started to walk out of the school, my heavy books needed for homework pressed against my chest, I noticed Derek leaning against his car and playing with the sleeve of his leather jacket. I started to smile and was going to walk up to him, but suddenly stopped as I saw a blonde girl approaching him. I couldn't find my breath. _Maybe Derek's being a nice guy and giving his classmate a ride home, _I thought to myself, hoping for it to be true, that they were just friends and nothing more. But my thoughts were proven wrong as Derek's and the blonde's bodies moved closer together and, as I held my breath, they started to make out. Classmates….more like playmates.

What was all the stuff at lunch? I thought that…that he was angry because Noel kissed me in his spot? I mean, he couldn't have been pissed because his food _actually _moved, right? Then I realized that this was_ Derek_. He dated dozens of girls at one time. Well, not dozens, more like 3, but that's still a lot compared to my faithful ways. I meant nothing to him, probably just a harmless flirt, while he occupied my mind about 90 percent of the time. I sighed out, due to the frustration building up in my heart and from holding my breath. One sided love sucks, especially when you just found out that its one sided.

My eyes start to sting and as I rubbed them, my fingers became wet. I was crying, well not crazy-couldn't breathe-sobbing, but crying nonetheless. I guess I was really in love. This confirmed it. Well I know that a lot of girls cry over their crushes or boyfriends or whatever complicated relationships they're in even if they aren't in love, but I was kinda different from them. I never cry over romantic affairs; I guess that all-girls school made me independent, or what Mom calls "hard-headed."

_Dammit_, I thought. If I was crying, then my eyes will be red. Well duh, but I didn't want him to see me crying. I pulled the hair tie out of my hair, ruining my high ponytail, then did that flippy hair thingy I always see popular girls do in movies. Sections of my hair covered the sides of my face, making it almost impossible to see my expression on my face if someone was standing right next to me. Not to brag, but I had really thick hair, or is that something to brag about?

I started to on my path to home, and in the corner of my eye, I could see Derek still making out with his…classmate. After 10 minutes of walking and a few tears running down my face (I wiped them away with my sleeve), I heard a loud purr. I looked up from the ground to see the Prince driving slowly right next to me, and in the driver's seat was Derek.

"Hey, you want a ride?" he offered. He had the window rolled down, \one of his arms was resting on the empty window space, and he had his other hand on the steering wheel.

"No thanks," I muttered out.

"You sure? I kinda feel guilty about leaving you back there at school."

"You saw me?"

"Um, yeah. You were flipping your hair, and if you didn't notice, you hair hit some poor guy's face," Derek informed me, with an amused look on his face.

"I guess I was just trying to be cool, like you are right now with the whole one hand driving thing."

"I don't have to try to be cool, Case," he said with a smirk on his face. I thought I heard him mutter "but I try around you" but dismissed this, thinking I only heard it due my mind wanting to hear it.

"So, you felt guilty, huh?" I asked him.

"Yup, I mean what kind of stepbrother leaves their step-sis walking home in this heat?"

"Its about 70 degrees out here, what do you mean by heat?" I asked.

"Well, you always wear a friggin sweater everyday, it must be 90 degrees to you, I mean its ok to show a little skin once in a while," Derek smirked suggestively.

"You're gross," I told him, walking a little faster now.

He started to laugh as he drove the Prince a little faster so the car's speed matched my walking speed.

"Hey, I'm just saying," he started to say, "showing a little skin would look good on you."

I stopped walking, and turned to him and couldn't help smiling at his weird comment. As soon as he saw my face expression, his face changed from smiling to seriousand he coughed.

"I meant, it would be good _for_ you," he corrected, "Anyway, you getting in the car or not?"

"Since when do you give me rides home from school?" I asked.

"Since now," he smiled.

"I meant, why are you giving me a ride, Derek."

"Just cause."

I needed no more explanation. I eyed him as I got into the passenger seat. He was eyeing me back the whole time. As I was on the seat, I buckled my seatbelt.

"Comfy?" he asked me.

"Very."

"Good, because that seat has your imprints on it, since you like riding in my car so much," he said. I saw the corner of his lips going up involuntarily.

"I only ride in your car because you offer to" I said to him, playfully hitting him on the shoulder, "And how do you know if the imprints are mine, they could be from anyone else that rides your car."

"Haha, nice try, Case. But that seat is only satten upon by you and only you."

I'm pretty sure that Derek wasn't trying to sound sincere; he was probably trying to sound the opposite of sincere. But that comment enlightened me. To know that this seat was inscribed to me was probably one of pleasing thoughts I had all day. I looked to Derek and saw that he had his eyes on the road, but looked at me at the corner of his eyes once in a while. I looked to his chest, and saw that it was missing a seatbelt.

"Put on your seatbelt, Derek."

"We're almost home, and besides I can't put a seatbelt on while driving."

"You're only driving with one arm," I said to him, rolling my eyes.

"True, but have you ever tried putting an seatbelt on with one arm, its kinda a hard thing to do."

"Fine, well, if we're in a car accident and you die because you got flung out of the car, don't blame me," I told him, crossing me arms.

"Well, I wouldn't want that to happen," he said with a thinking expression on his face, "so would you put it on for me?"

"What?"

"Put. On. The. Seatbelt. For. Moi."

"Wouldn't that distract you?"

"Hah, no. Casey, you couldn't distracted me if you tried."

This comment stung a little.

"OK, fine then."

I reached for his seatbelt from my seat but couldn't get it. So I had to reach over a little more. As I finally got the seatbelt shiny metal thingy in my grasp, I realized the awkward position we were in. My head was under his chin and near his chest, and I heard Derek inhaling. W-was he smelling my hair? And I saw that his chest was moving in and out, as if he was breathing really hard. I think he was nervous. But why would he be nervous because of me?

Then the car stopped abruptly as Derek hit the brakes, causing my head to softly crash into his chest. I was scared at the moment, so my hands were grasping at his shirt. I looked up at him, and his face was only a few inches away from mine. He was looking into my eyes as I looked into his. His eyes fluttered shut and his hand had moved to the back of my head, pushing me slowly towards him. My eyes remained opened, closing a little further and further as the space between me and him decreased. Our lips were less then an inch away, but then a car honked at us from behind and I returned back into my seat. Derek groaned in annoyance. He put on his seatbelt, and started the car again.

"Why'd you stop the car?" I asked him, wishing I hadn't.

"Cause, you were taking so freaking long to put on my seatbelt for me."

We didn't say anything for the rest of the car ride. As he pulled up onto the drive way, I got out of the car as soon as I could and headed toward the door. I could hear Derek slam his car door. I turned the handle but then it was locked. _Shoot_, I thought. I dug through my backpack in search for the key, but by the time I already found it, Derek was already at the door with me.

"I thought you would be more organized, Case," he said to me as he held up his key to my face.

I gave him a nervous half smile again. He put the key into the door handle. I waited for him to unlock it but instead he turned to me again.

"Hey, Case, you know that I care bout you right?" he said to me.

I nodded in response, but I guess my face expression seemed confused.

"I mean, of course I care bout you, cause you're my stepsister and all, so I have to," he started to ramble, "But I do care bout you, so don't ask me anymore questions like why I'm giving you a ride and stuff, alright?"

I nodded again, with a smile on my face. Then he turned to the door and turned the key in the handle.

It was later that night and I was doing my homework, well trying to. I couldn't help but think about Derek and our almost kiss in the car. Stupid honking stranger. I think that Derek likes me... but if that's true, then why was he making out with another girl earlier? I cringed at the thought of this. He cares about me….but as what? Well he did say it's because I'm his stepsister, but then what about that almost kiss in the car? I was confused, very confused. Is it possible for a _guy_ to give mixed signals? I thought that only girls do that.

I needed to know. I needed to know if he liked me as much as I liked him (well that's kind of impossible). I was gonna tell him how I felt. At that moment, I didn't care what he would say back. I was going to tell him and see if he would returned my feelings. If he rejected me, it couldn't possibly be as bad as wondering if he did like me or not, because this was complete anguish.

I stood up and headed towards his room, with a clear motive on my mind. I marched to the door, and took a breath before turning the handle. As I opened the door, my heart was completely crushed as I saw Derek making out with the same blonde as before. Then they both broke their kisses as they both gazed up at me. I looked down to the ground, not wanting to see them together.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry," I said out loud, trying to fight back my tears," I'll come back another time."

I walked out the bedroom and closed the door behind me. I rushed into my room and locked the door. Then I let all the tears that I was suppressing before flow out. I was crying like earlier today. Silent tears, only there were a lot more of them than earlier. I knew that the questions I had before in my mind were answered.

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**Aww, this was a sad chapter. I dunno if some people got the last sentence, but the questions refer to the questions about Derek liking her or not. Anyway this was the longest chapter ever woot woot. 2 thousand words. Please please review. I guess I kinda left it on a cliffhanger…Sorry for the "almost" kiss. I was really tempted to type that they did kiss, but I like subtle Dasey... Anyway I'll try to update asap after I get four reviews…so review review. If I get more than 4 I'll be ecstatic and write faster!**


	9. Chapter 8: Silly Snowglobes

**:D I got 13 reviews for the last chapter! so so so happy but yet again, I have to ask for 4 reviews (but more would make me update even faster) so review review! I know this is kinda "oo, drama" haha. Also try to imagine them as season 1 derek and casey. That's how I imagine them…anyways here is the new chapter. The first few paragraphs, I kinda rambled on..**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Life with Derek or its characters -serious face-**

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_"I walked out the bedroom and closed the door behind me. I rushed into my room and locked the door. Then I let all the tears that I was suppressing before flow out. I was crying like earlier today. Silent tears, only there were a lot more of them than earlier. I knew that the questions I had before in my mind were answered."_

I sat on my bed, just contemplating what just happened. I guess, he didn't like me…and even if he did, I saw that he certainly didn't like me as much as that girl. I went to the mirror of my room, and looked at my body. _Maybe if I wore more revealing clothes_, I thought to myself as I slightly pulled the bottom of my shirt downwards, revealing a little cleavage. _NO, no, no. _These feelings are here again. The feelings that come along with the crush, that make me want to change myself just so he can maybe like me. I don't want to dress skanky. I don't want him to notice me just because of that, right? I wanted him to notice my likes and dislikes and my habits and tendencies to do something and what ticks me off and what makes me happy. I wanted him to notice me for who _I _am, not someone that he can have a "fun" time with.

I sighed and went back to my bed. _He always makes me so self conscious_, I thought as I buried my head into my pillow. The pillow was a little…damp. It was probably from my tears earlier. I went to the mirror, and observed my face. Good thing I wasn't wearing makeup, or else I would look like Frankenstein's bride. The puffiness and redness of my eyes had gone down. Well it was an hour later since my crying parade. My eyes were a little irritated from wiping it so much. But, all in all, I looked like I just came out of Disneyland. The door started to creak and I saw, as I turned my head, that it was Derek opening it.

"Hey, Case…" he greeted me.

"Hi," I replied, not knowing what else to say.

"You wanted say something to me earlier?" he asked me.

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. Oh that's right, I was going to tell him that I was in love with him.

"Oh, nevermind, it wasn't important," I lied.

"You sure, cause you can come to me for anything, right?" he said to me, as he picked up one of my snowglobes with a happy smile on his face.

"Yeah, I know."

"Sorry for walking in on…"

"Oh, it's alright. I should have expected that you were um "busy"," I interrupted him.

"How often do you think I'm "busy?" he asked me, the snowglobe still in his hand.

"About every day…" I truthfully told him.

"Case, you actually think that I'm busy "with" a girl about everyday?" he said surprised.

"Well, you do have a reputation at school, Derek."

"I know, I know…but most of its all rumors," he said to me, still playing with that snowglobe, "So don't believe everything you hear."

He then moved over towards me, and crouched down right in front of me so he and I were at eye length. He took my hands into his and looked at me straight in the eyes.

"Alright?"

"Ok," I agreed in monotone.

"Well, then that's settled," he declared, as he stood up and headed towards the door.

I normally would leave it at this, but something in me suddenly sparked.

"I saw you making out with that girl at school earlier," I suddenly shouted out to him, as his hand was on the doorknob.

He drooped his head down, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"You saw that?" he asked me.

"Yeah, right before I flipped my hair," I informed him.

"Well, I'm sorry you had to see that."

"Why? I mean, I know that teenagers have a lot of raging hormones and sometimes it bursts out of them making them do a lot of…stuff, and that you, of course, are no exception. I see people do that all the time, and maybe even more than that..."

"Stop right there," he said as he held a hand to my face, "I do not have raging hormones in me."

"Hah, then what was that display of spit swapping earlier?," I asked humorously.

"That was…just for fun."

"Right, big fun…" I said, "so how bout that girl?"

"What girl?" Derek asked, pretending he didn't know anything.

"You know what girl."

"What about her?" he asked.

"Well, are you dating her?"

"You think I would date her just because I made out with her?"

"I didn't know that you thought like that."

"Like what?!"he exclaimed.

"Like you can just use girls for your insensitive hormonal reasons!"

"I told you, theres no hormones in me," he said, " Why are you so worried about how I treat girls?"

I was worried because...I didn't want him treating me this way...but I wasn't about to tell him that.

"Because..." I started to say, "I dunno."

"Would you rather I be dating that girl then?"

No I didn't.

"Sure," I said suddenly, wondering how stupid I was.

"Well there's one problem. She doesn't mean as much as," he said to me, as he grabbed my hand, "As one other person does."

"Right, right…" I said, nodding foolishly, "So seriously? No hormones in you at all?"

He smiled in reply. He leaned down and his lips became closer and closer to mine. He said, with his lips a few inches away, "Maybe there's a few…" he leaned in even closer. I got really really nervous. I turned my head, so he kissed me on the cheek. This was vaguely familiar with how I dealt with Noel's kiss too.

"Why'd you turn your head?" he whispered the question to me, as he realized he was kissing my cheek.

"I dunno…" I truthfully told him, as I looked him straight in the eyes.

I bet he could see that I was as confused as he was.

"Alright," he said as he was standing again.

He reached for the snowglobe that he was playing with before.

"You remembered how you got this?" he asked me.

I really didn't remember.

"No…" I replied.

"Shame shame, Case. I always thought you had a great memory," he stated, "Well, it was the week after you broke up with Sam, and we had to go Christmas shopping together."

"Oh yeah," the memories rushing into me.

"You were moping and stuff, so then I bought you this to shut your mouth."

"Hah, now I remember."

"So I did get you something for an occasion," he said, referring to the spork conversation, "And after I gave this to you, you kept smiling and even gave me a hug…"

He just looked at me with a simple face.

"Yeah, I remembered that I had to force you to hug me," I said, "And I had to force you to stop."

"Well, that was a really nice hug," he said, moving uncomfortable, "You're a great hugger."

"Well, thanks," I laughed.

"We should…hug more," he muttered.

"What did you just say?" I asked, amazed.

"I think that we should give each other hugs more," he said louder.

"Did the Derek Venturi just ask for hugs?"

"Yes, I did," he stood up in front of me stretching his arms, "and I would like to start now."

I stood up and headed toward him. He watched me with careful eyes. I leaned into his chest, and before I could put my arms around him, his arms instantly wrapped around me. We stayed like that for about 4 minutes, with my arms and head pressed into his chest, his chin on the top of my head. He held me tight as if this was the last time we were going to be like this.

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**ugh…I did not like this chapter at all…its kinda random and really short. Its like a filler chapter. I'm having semi-writers block, so any suggestions? So 4 reviews :D sorry if this was a disappointment. It was not my best work…but if you wanna see more of my work, review!! (sorry for another almost-kiss, now its like a running gag -.-) ahh the first time I posted this up, I forgot the flashback, so I had to go back and edit this, sorry!  
**


	10. Chapter 9: Turkey Sandwich

**Yeah, I thought that the last chapter wasn't really good, but you readers still liked it and even reviewed! Thank you a lot : and hopefully this chapter will be better than the last. I am super sorry I didn't update!! I had writers block and it took extremely long for me to get over it, but I think I did, for now. Here is the new chapter (it's a little boring in the beginning though). Also this chapter is dedicated to wprincessannw (who's name is ann, I assume, based on the username, sorry if I got your name wrong!) I hope you guys like this chapter :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Life with Derek or its characters.**

--

_I stood up and headed toward him. He watched me with careful eyes. I leaned into his chest, and before I could put my arms around him, his arms instantly wrapped around me. We stayed like that for about 4 minutes, with my arms and head pressed into his chest, his chin on the top of my head. He held me tight as if this was the last time we were going to be like this._

I woke up with a refreshed feeling. Derek truly cared for me, I think, and I was satisfied with that, even though he may not like me as much as I liked him, he liked me nonetheless. Derek also got into the bathroom first, so when I entered it, I took a long deep breath, not feeling as much of a dork as before. It was weird how when I first moved in, Derek was usually the cause of my unhappiness (because all the pranks and the pain of a crush) but now, he was the reason why I felt so...so…happy. Happy doesn't really describe it but it will make due now.

After I finished getting ready for school, I ran down the stairs to find Derek and Marti playing around in the kitchen. I approached the two slowly, slightly embarrassed about our encounter last night, although, now that I think about it, he should be the one embarrassed, not me. He is the one who admitted that he was the one that wanted hugs. When I came into the kitchen, Marti ran to me and hugged my legs.

"I beat Derek at thumb wars!" she told me.

"Oh, really?" I replied, raising my eyebrow at him.

"Hey, I let Marti beat me," he proclaimed.

"Right…." I said sarcastically.

"Marti, go get your backpack and lunch and let's roll," Derek ordered.

Marti nodded and then let go off my legs and grabbed a pink lunch box from the kitchen and ran upstairs for her backpack. Derek then flashed a smile and walked up close to me.

"Hey, Case," he greeted me.

"Hey, Derek," I showed him a nervous smile.

We stood close together for a few seconds and then I interrupted the silence with "So you packed Marti lunch?"

"Yup, I also made lunch for you too," He said as he walked toward the table and threw a brown paper bag at me.

"For me?" I asked.

"Yeah, you're always complaining about the school food, so I made you a little something something."

"It's a…sandwich," I said as I opened the bag.

"Yeah, that's the only thing I know how to make besides cereal," he told me, as he rubbed his hand on the back of his neck.

"Well, thanks. That was weirdly nice for you."

"I have my moments," he flashed another smile at me.

"So you have a sandwich too?" I asked, not knowing what else to say.

"Oh, I was just planning of going halfsies with Ralph's lunch," he told me, "His mom always packs him so much stuff, its like she thinks that he's Godzilla."

"Well, that's better than being a Klutzilla."

"Well, its not so bad, as long as there's somebody to catch you when you fall."

He walked up close to me and whispered in my ear, "Preferably me." Before I could say anything, Marti came down the stairs, eager to go. Derek then rushed to the door and opened the door for her.

"My lady," he bowed as he let Marti pass through the door.

I tried to go out while Derek had the door open, but then he closed it before I could.

"Ah, ah, ah," He said, "Not so fast, Case."

"Come on, Derek, You couldn't just hold the door open for a few more seconds?" I asked.

All he did was smirk at me.

"Do you want me to open the door for you?" I asked him, trying to read his expression.

Then it was clear what he wanted. He opened his arms, wanting a hug. I rolled my eyes, trying to conceal my excitement. Then I put my arms around him and I felt him tense up, so I let go. To my astonishment, he pulled me into his arms again and squeezed me tight for a few more seconds.

"Lets go," he stated.

I opened the door (he wouldn't do it for me becuase apparently he wanted fo rme to get over being a "princess") and he followed.

--

"And then, he looked back at me!" Emily said excitedly.

"Hmm?" I asked, as I was in a daze.

"Case, what's up with you? You've been out of it all day," Emily said, before she took a bite out of the pasta she brought.

"Oh, I guess I've just been caught up with school stuff," I told her.

I saw Noel glancing at me across the table, not believing what I said.

"School stuff?" he asked doubtingly.

"Yes, school stuff," I tried to assure him.

"Whatever," He muttered as he dug into his mash potatoes with his fork.

I knew Noel suspected something between me and Derek but luckily, he didn't say anything about it to anyone else.

"Well, I think you're thinking about a boy," Emily said.

"What? no, nope, no boy at all," I replied, noticing Noel's ears perk up.

"Come on, tell us who it is," she nudged my shoulder.

Before I could answer, Derek came out of nowhere and preceded to our table.

"Hey, sup?" he asked as he slung his body onto the seat next to me.

I could see Noel staring daggers at him.

"Well, Anthony Wilkens is totally into me! During Mr.Walken's lecture, he looked back at me, which means that he had to turn his body half way to meet my eye which means that he would rather be inconvenienced and look at me than be comfortable not looking at me!" Emily stated rather fast.

"Well, that's….," Derek started to say, "good?"

"And Casey has a crush on someone," she added.

"Really?" Derek asked with amusement looking at me, "Who?"

"I don't think its any of your business," Noel said angrily at him.

"Well, I think it is since she is my stepsister," Derek fired back, wrapping his arm around me possessively.

"And only your stepsister, Derek."

"That's what you think," Derek muttered at him.

I widened my eyes and looked nervously over at Emily, and was relieved when I saw that she was too intrigued have eye smex with Anthony to notice the feud going on at her own table.

"Well isn't this fun," I said as I stood up, trying to end the little argument, "But I think I gotta get going now."

I ran (well, fast walked) out of the cafeteria fast. That situation was way too awkward. Before I knew it, I was out in the again empty hallway walking. My stomach started to rumble. _I forgot to eat my lunch,_ I thought. I was too preoccupied with my thoughts of Derek to eat. I dug through my backpack before I found the sandwich Derek had made me. When I took the meal out of the paper bag, my stomach started to growl louder as I saw the perfect big turkey sandwich. I smiled when I thought about how Derek made it _for me_, not for himself. I sat down one under the staircase as I unwrapped the plastic wrap. I heard a "Case." I looked to the right of me, and saw Derek walking toward me nervously, hands in pockets. Usually he strode in confidence.

"Hey," he said as he sat down next to me.

"You've already said hey to me two times today. You need new material."

"Hi?"

"That's…improvement."

"So whatcha eating?" he asked me as he eyed my sandwich.

"You should know, you're the one that made it for me," I told him.

"Oh yeah, so its turkey?"

"And we have a winner."

"Well enjoy it ok?" he siad as he laughed, "I made it especially for you."

I nodded but then stopped as I heard Derek's stomach growl.

"Didn't you eat yet?" I asked.

"Oh, well, Ralph is on this new diet with tofu and healthy green junk. Its gross."

"Oh, so you wanna go halfsies then?" I offered him.

He half-smiled at me and replied with a "Sure." I tried to rip the sandwich in half, but it didn't work out as I planned. I just ended up getting my hands to smell like turkey.

"Why don't you eat one half of the sandwich first, then give the rest to me?" He advised.

"But then, you'll get my germs," I said and I saw that he rolled his eyes.

"Its no big deal," he assured me, "it would be like indirectly kissing you."

I blushed at that; thinking about Derek kissing me always made me do that.

"No, that would be like me giving you leftovers. Can I see that Swiss army knife that George gave you."

He dug through his pocket until he found it and handed it over to me. I opened every utensil, there was scissors and a corkscrew and, aha, finally found the knife. I cut the sandwich using it, then picked up one half and gave it to Derek.

"Now you got my knife all greasy…." he whined.

"Fine," I sighed and I wiped the knife with the paper bag, "There."

We sat there eating our sandwiches in silence. After I surprisingly finished my half before him (I gave him the bigger half), Derek put his arm around me and pushed me closer to him. I smiled and rested my head on his shoulder. I felt him kiss the top of my head. Even though the grease that was on his lips from the turkey was probably in my hair now, I strangely didn't mind. I just liked being there with him, with his arm around me.

--

**Aha! Some dasey fluff again. I was trying to pull ideas out from the air, I still have a little writers block. Next chapter will have drama. It will move the story along and further the plot. I mean, I can't just keep writing Dasey fluff every chapter, no matter how much I want to. Sorry that this chapter was really short! I'll try to write longer next time. So review review! If you review, then I will keep writing and it will pick away at the big giant block in my writer mind. :)**


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